My Lyoko Oneshots
by hhgbh
Summary: Being a Lyoko Warrior is tough. There's Xana attacks to fend off, towers to deactivate and homework to get in on time! A collection of, mostly humorous, stories featuring the Lyoko gang.
1. Feels Like Home

Feels Like Home

"Help! Xanafied buzz saw!"

Odd leapt up onto the safety of the couch as the power tool crawled speedily along the floor. Its' circular blade was cutting thin grooves into the floor.

"Odd, I told you not to play around with it!" Ulrich was perched on top of the table.

They were in the living room of the abandoned house known as The Hermitage. Strewn about were various tools and household furnishings. They had come to try and fix up the old house; to make it look like more of a home. Since, so far, all efforts to rematerialize Franz Hopper had proved unsuccessful; the Lyoko Warriors had decided to try to give Aelita something else from her old life.

Aelita knew nothing of what they had planned. Odd had thought it would be better if they did it as a surprise. So Jeremie was taking her into town for a day, while the rest of them set to work. Of course, the out-of-control buzz saw zipping around the room had put a halt to their renovations.

The front door opened and Yumi walked in, carrying some buckets of paint and brushes.

"Okay, guys; I've got the paint – What the -?!"

"Yumi, watch out! It senses your presence!" Odd yelled out as, by an unfortunate coincidence, the saw quickly ate its' way along the floor towards her.

Yumi gave a yelp and jumped onto a rickety chair, narrowly avoiding the blade nipping at her feet. Ulrich grabbed her hand, and pulled her onto the table with him.

"What happened? I only left you two alone for five minutes!" Yumi had to raise her voice to be heard over the sound of the saw eating through the floor boards.

"It's Odd's fault!" Ulrich pointed to his blond roommate. "He brought that stupid buzz saw, and now it's stuck on auto!"

"Hey, I was trying to speed things up!" Odd called back in defense. "It would've taken forever to cut those new shelves with that rusty old saw you brought!"

"Okay, okay." Yumi held her hands up, playing peace-maker. "Any ideas on what we do now?"

"I don't know." Replied Odd. He looked down at the buzz saw, which was now circling the couch. "Though this does remind me of when I was ten, and went to stay with my Aunt June. She left me alone in the house with her creepy chihuahua. The thing went crazy and tried to eat me. I was trapped on the kitchen counter for three hours!"

"I don't want to be stuck here for three hours!" Said Ulrich. "How long until its' batteries die?"

"Well, I just put in two of those long-life batteries, so… I think we're going to be here a while."

The three of them groaned. Just then, the sound of fabric being shredded filled the room.

"There go Aelita's new curtains." Yumi looked gloomily at what remained of the brightly coloured drapes she had left folded on the floor.

"Hey Ulrich, you're good at soccer." Said Odd. "The window's open. Maybe you could boot the saw out of the house."

"And lose a toe in the process? Why don't you do it, Odd? It's your saw!"

"But it'll cut through my sneakers like butter." Odd looked over at Yumi's footwear. "Yumi, your boots look pretty tough."

"No way, Odd. I've already lost one pair of shoes to your dog. I'm not losing another to your saw."

At that moment, Yumi's mobile rang. She fished it out of her pocket, while Odd picked up a metal rule and began trying the knock the buzz saw over.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Yumi. It's Jeremie." The blond genius was standing in the boy's bathroom of a café in town. "I want to know when to bring Aelita over for her surprise."

"Uh…" Yumi looked over at the rogue buzz saw devouring a floor rug, while Odd was swiping at it with his rule. "We're kinda still working, Jeremie."

"Yeah, I can hear that." In the background, Jeremie could hear the buzz saw going and Ulrich yelling, "No, Odd! Turn it on its' back! Its' back!"

"Jeremie, I gotta go. I'll call you later." Yumi hung up and looked down. The buzz saw was now on its' side and spinning viciously. It was still moving around the floor at possibly a greater speed than before.

"Oh no. Not the paint cans!"

The saw cut into the sides of the cans, letting the paint leak out onto the floor. Also, since its' blade was now coated with the stuff; as it spun, it sent paint flying everywhere. The three teens screamed and held their arms up as they were hit by the spray.

"Ugh!" Yumi looked down at the multicoloured streaks that adorned her dark shirt and pants. "How can this get any worse?!"

Her answer came in the form of the table shuddering beneath her and Ulrich. The saw was now cutting through one of the legs. They jumped onto the couch with Odd, as the table tilted on its' much shortened support.

"Okay, I've had it." Said Odd. He wielded his rule like a sword. "I say we attack it together, head on! We've defeated worse things than this. What do you say?"

Yumi and Ulrich looked at each other briefly, and then reached over the side of the couch. They came back up with their own weapons. Ulrich was holding a hammer and Yumi had a long chisel.

"Ready?" They all focused their eyes on the buzz saw that was currently stationary, as if awaiting their advance.

"Lyoko Warriors, attack!"

Had someone other than a few squirrels and birds been present outside The Hermitage; they probably would've been alarmed by the loud crashing, banging and yelling that issued from the house, and called the police. Fortunately, this was not the case, and the boarding school students would not have to explain their presence in a supposedly abandoned house.

They were still going to have to come up with an explanation though.

Yumi sat with her head in her hands. Her clothes were even dirtier than before, and her hair was messed up.

"Aelita is going to hate us." She said miserably, looking at the bombsite which had once been The Hermitage's living room.

Ulrich sat next to her, mournfully holding one of his shoes. The sole was almost completely cut off. By some miracle, his foot had escaped unharmed.

"And I doubt Jeremie's going to forgive us any time soon." He said.

Odd poked at the demolished buzz saw with his rule. The slain power tool made no movement, save for its' wiring giving a slight spark.

"Do you think I'll be able to get my money back at the hardware store?"

His two friends turned their heads and glared at him. He held up his hands defensively.

"Just wondering."

"What is wrong with us?" Ulrich put his hand over his eyes. "No matter what we do, we always end up wrecking something!"

"And Jeremie and Aelita are usually the ones to put it back to normal." Yumi added. She took another gloomy look around the room. "Though it's going to take more than a coat of paint to get this back the way it was."

Odd's head perked up.

"Guys, I just had this really crazy idea."

Ulrich and Yumi looked at him with curious expressions. A grin slowly grew on the purple-clad boy's face.

"We're going to need some more paint."

--

Jeremie walked along the worn-down path leading to The Hermitage, with Aelita beside him.

"Come on, Jeremie. Tell me what this big surprise is." The pink-haired girl grinned with anticipation.

"If I told you; it wouldn't be a surprise." Jeremie was excited himself. He couldn't wait to see Aelita's face when she saw her old home restored to the way it was.

As they approached the house, the front door opened and their three friends stepped out. Splotches of multicoloured paint adorned their clothes and specks had made it onto their faces and hair.

"Hey there, Aelita." Odd held up his hand in greeting. "We've got something special to show you."

"Yeah. You see, we wanted to fix up your home to give you a piece of your old life back." Said Ulrich.

"But then we realized that, no matter what you do, you can never really bring back the past." Yumi held the door open for Aelita and motioned for her to go inside. "But you can use parts of it to make a new future."

Aelita walked in, with a somewhat confused Jeremie behind her. She stepped into the living room and her eyes widened. Jeremie's mouth dropped open at what he saw.

The entire room had been painted over. Each of the four walls now resembled a sector of Lyoko. The orange and red of the Desert sector; the dark blue and white resembling Ice; Forest was portrayed with various shades of green and yellow sunlight; and Mountain had purple-coloured rocks with blue sky.

On the floor, there were random grooves cut into the woodwork. But they had been painted in to resemble their Lyoko vehicles. The Overbike, the Overboard, the Overwing and even the _Skidbladnir_.

In the centre of the room, the table had had its' front two legs shortened so that it leant forward like a makeshift plaque. Upon its' surface, the five friends' faces had been painted, with their names written underneath. Below their names, Yumi, Ulrich and Odd had all put their handprints in different colours of paint. Yumi's was in black; Ulrich's in green and Odd's in purple. Above it all, the words 'Lyoko Warriors Forever!' were written in white paint.

Aelita stood in silence for a while, just taking in the scene before her. Jeremie seemed to be at a loss for words too.

Ulrich, Yumi and Odd traded nervous looks, and then stiffened up as Aelita turned around. There were tears in her eyes and her mouth was open in a wide smile.

"Oh you guys!"

She ran over and pulled all three of them into a hug. They each let out a silent sigh of relief and grinned at each other.

"Hey Princess, don't forget Einstein." Odd pointed at the still gaping Jeremie. "This was his idea."

Jeremie was snapped out of his stupor by Aelita throwing her arms around his neck and kissing his cheek.

Ulrich leaned in close to Odd and whispered,

"Odd, you're a genius."

"Yeah, I know." He replied with a toothy smile.

Yumi held up two paint can lids smeared with blue and pink.

"You two want to add your signatures?"

Jeremie and Aelita pressed their paint-covered hands against the tabletop, completing the picture. The friends then set about discussing what they could add to their new 'clubhouse', such as bean-bags, plants and photos.

"Hey, Ulrich?" Aelita suddenly asked. "What happened to your shoe?"


	2. Stuck With You

Stuck With You

Ulrich's eyes were tightly squeezed shut, yet he was aware of a lot of things around him. He was aware of his heart beating madly against his ribcage. He was aware of the rough bark pressed against his hands and cheek. He was aware of the evening wind ruffling his hair and causing the tree, he was currently clinging to, to sway ruthlessly.

He then became aware of something else. A voice was calling to him from down below.

"Ulrich! Ulrich!"

He prayed that it wasn't who he thought it was. Just a little while ago, he'd been looking so forward to seeing her. Now, he wished that it was anyone but her.

He cracked an eye open and looked down; quickly shutting it again before his dizziness took over. It had been enough time to confirm his fears. Yumi was standing at the base of the tree, looking up at him trapped in the higher branches like a house cat.

Odd was standing next to her. He cupped his hands around his mouth and called up,

"Ulrich, how did you get up there?"

Ulrich let out a groan as he thought back to what had led to his current predicament.

He hated Valentine's Day.

(Half an hour earlier)

Ulrich stood in front of his desk, mentally going through the checklist he had compiled of everything he would need that night. All the items were laid on the tabletop before him.

'Let's see; movie tickets – check. Change for taxi – check. Her favorite flavor chewing mints – check. Breath mints for me – check.'

Behind him, the door opened and Odd strolled into their room.

"Hey there, Ulrich. Ready for your big date?"

"It's not a date, Odd." Ulrich replied. "Yumi and I are just going out as friends."

"Of course you are." Odd smiled devilishly and picked up the movie tickets. "A boy and a girl; going to dinner and a movie; on Valentine's Day – as _friends_."

"It's possible." Ulrich snatched the tickets back and put them in his pocket. He went to pick up the rest of the items on his desk, but Odd beat him to it.

"What's this? Breath mints? Since when do you take these?" His eyes then widened and he grinned. He began to lean in close to Ulrich. "I get it. You want your breath to be minty fresh for when you lean in to kiss her."

Ulrich pushed away Odd's puckered lips.

"Knock it off! Besides, don't you have some 'big date' to get ready for, yourself?"

Odd's face fell. He flopped down onto his bed and began absently stroking a sleeping Kiwi.

"No. I've tried asking, but every girl seems to have plans." He suddenly sat up and looked at Ulrich brightly. "Hey, maybe I could help you out with your date?"

"What?"

"Yeah. After the movie, you could take Yumi to the hill by the woods. You could lie under the stars, and I'll surprise her with a romantic serenade on my guitar."

"No offense Odd, but your punk rock rendition of 'That's Amore' is kind of a mood killer."

Ulrich grabbed his stuff and headed out the door.

"Bye, Odd. Stay out of trouble while I'm gone."

As he stepped into the hallway, he saw Sissi walking towards their dorm. She instantly spoke up as he came into view.

"Ulrich, I -"

Ulrich stopped her by raising his hand.

"Before you even start, I've got plans."

He walked past the girl, who still had her mouth open in mid-sentence. As he turned the corner, he could hear Odd speak up,

"You know, Sissi; if you're desperate for a date, I'm free tonight."

"I'll never be _that_ desperate, Della Robbia."

Ulrich jogged down the stairs and made for the main doors, but two girls stepped into his path.

"Oh, hi Milly. Hi, Tamiya." Ulrich tried to sound friendly, but the sight of pens and notepads in the girls' hands gave him the feeling that this was not just a casual call.

"Ulrich, could we ask you a few questions for the _Kadic Herald_?" Tamiya ventured.

"What about?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"We've heard, from a reliable source, that you've finally asked Yumi out on a date." Milly replied. "Our readers just want to know why this took so long, and what made you change your mind?"

Ulrich groaned. He was going to kill Odd.

"Look, we are not going on a date," He said firmly. "We're just going to see a movie. People go to the movies together all the time. It doesn't mean they're dating."

"But you're also going to have dinner at _La Langue de L'amour_; one of the most romantic spots in town." Tamiya said.

He was going to kill Odd, _slowly_.

"Not to mention, it's Valentine's Day." Milly added with a grin. "So, what do you want us to tell our readers?"

"To mind their own business!" Ulrich marched past them and went out through the door. Milly and Tamiya looked at each other.

"Well, that was rude." Said Tamiya.

Milly shrugged.

"Love makes people crazy."

Ulrich marched purposely towards the school gate. Since when did everyone at Kadic care about his personal life? Even if he was going out on a date with Yumi, which he was _not_; it had nothing to do with anyone else. What was the big deal about Valentine's Day, anyway? It was a stupid holiday, really.

Just as he reached the gate, his mobile rang. Sighing, he took it out of his pocket and answered.

"Hello?"

"Ulrich," Jeremie's voice came over the other end. "I'm glad I caught you. I was worried you'd have turned your phone off for your date."

"It's not a -"

"Anyway, I need you to go up to the roof."

"What? Why?" Ulrich then slumped and put his hand over his eyes. "Oh, please don't use the X-word."

"Well, my laptop scanner has been giving me some weird readings. It's like a tower keeps activating, and then deactivating, at regular times. Xana might be trying to create a stealthier means of sending his agents to Earth, by forwarding their data a little at a time.

I figured he might try another attack on the school, so I brought up its' electronic output stats on my laptop."

"You know how to do that?" Ulrich then rolled his eyes. "What am I saying? Of course you do. And what did you find?"

"Well, there is some unusual activity coming from the radio antenna on the roof. It seems fairly weak, but I'd rather you checked, just to be sure."

"Why can't Odd go?" Ulrich said, irritated. "Yumi's going to be waiting for me."

"I can't reach Odd. Remember he got his phone confiscated by trying to call student datelines in class? Besides, if this turns out to be a Xana attack, we may have to rewind the day, and you'll get a second chance to go out on your date."

"It's not -! Oh, never mind." Ulrich sighed resignedly. "Fine, I'll check the roof and let you know what I find."

"Great. Aelita and I are waiting at the factory, just in case."

Ulrich hung up and jogged back into the school building. As he climbed the stairs, he was muttering under his breath about 'stupid Xana' and his 'stupid attacks'. He didn't know which he would've preferred; for this to be a real attack, so that he wouldn't be missing his date – er - movie plans with Yumi for nothing; or for it to be a false alarm. Although, come to think of it; they hadn't really had that many false alarms.

Coming to the rooftop door, he had to pick the lock with a paper clip and some tweezers (a trick they'd all had to have picked up during their battles against Xana) and stepped out onto the roof. Up so high, the chilly wind was blowing strongly, causing the tops of the trees near the school building to sway.

Ulrich turned up the collar of his jacket and looked to the antenna. It was situated just above him, over the door. The boy stood watching it with his arms crossed. He tapped his foot expectantly on the ground.

"Okay, if any monsters, or specters, or whatever, are going to come out; do it now." He called up to the thin metal construction. "Come on, I haven't got all night."

The antenna gave no answer, save a slight rattle from the wind.

Ulrich gave a frustrated snort, turned around and picked up his phone. He dialed Jeremie's number.

"Hey, Jeremie. It's Ulrich. Look, there's nothing going on up here. Can I go now?"

…

"Yes, I'm sure! I'm standing right beside the thing and it isn't even sparking. I'm gonna take off. I'm already late for…"

Ulrich trailed off as he felt a prickling along his arms and the back of his neck. He lifted his hand to his fringe, and saw the hairs following his fingers; a sign of static cling.

Turning around, he lifted his head up to look into the 'face' of a large humanoid shape, made entirely of electricity. He lifted the phone back to his ear and spoke again.

"Jeremie, forget what I just said. You better send Aelita to Lyoko… now."

He didn't get a chance to say anything else, as the monster shot the phone out of his hand with an electric bolt. Ulrich dashed for the doorway, but the beast spread itself out like a sheet, blocking his escape. He found himself backed up against the railing as the monster advanced on him. Looking over his shoulder, he could see one possible escape route.

Seeing the distance from the roof to the tree; and from the tree to the ground, Ulrich began to feel dizzy. There was no way he could jump that. His hair rose again as the monster towered over him. Looking back to the tree, he figured the jump beat the alternative. Maybe, if he was lucky, he'd get away with only a broken leg.

Grabbing hold of the railing, he planted his feet on top and launched himself into space. At the same time, the monster fired a bolt of electricity which hit Ulrich in the back. It hurt, but it proved to be a blessing as it sent him crashing into the branches of the tree.

Ulrich managed to wrap his arms around the trunk and held on until the branches stopped shaking. He winced at the ache in his back, although it wasn't as bad as he thought he would be. Maybe his body was getting used to being electrocuted.

Looking back toward the school, he could see the monster flatten itself and seep under the door. He should get back in there and find Odd. But as he looked down to try and find a branch to place his foot on, he was hit by the light-headedness that was a part of his oh-so-loved vertigo.

He clung to the tree trunk and shut his eyes tightly. He should've known something like this would happen. Valentine's Day always seemed to have it out for him.

Stupid Valentine's Day.

--

"Ulrich!"

Still keeping his eyes shut, Ulrich called down to the ground,

"I can hear you, Odd! I got stuck getting away from one of Xana's monsters. Have you seen it?"

"Yeah, it appeared while me and Sissi were talking." Odd then grinned at Yumi. "She screamed and jumped right into my arms."

Yumi rolled her eyes.

"Well, where is it now?" She asked.

"Ran off with the rest of the students."

"I meant the monster!"

"Oh. I don't know. I gave it the slip and then came out looking for Ulrich."

"It might be heading for the factory, to destroy the supercomputer." Ulrich yelled down. "You two better get over there."

"Roger!" Odd threw a salute up to him. "We'll take care of this. Don't go anywhere."

"Funny." Ulrich muttered to himself.

Odd made to set off, but felt Yumi's hand on his shoulder.

"Odd, I'm going to stay with Ulrich. You know how he is with heights. He might fall, or the monster could come back."

"Okay then, see ya later, Yumi." Odd started running, not letting Yumi see the knowing smile on his face.

Yumi walked to the base of the tree and called up,

"Ulrich, I'm coming up."

Ulrich's eyes snapped open. She was what?! He chanced a look down and, sure enough, Yumi had swung herself onto a lower branch and was scaling the tree trunk. He shut his eyes again and groaned. This was so embarrassing!

Yumi clambered onto the branch across from Ulrich, so that they were facing each other. She placed her hand over his and spoke gently,

"Hey, how're you doing?"

Ulrich was going to reply with a sarcastic "Fine. Never better." But, when he opened his eyes, all he saw was Yumi smiling warmly at him. He could only reply with a smile of his own.

Yumi cast an eye around their immediate environment and let out a small chuckle.

"We sure do get ourselves into some weird situations, don't we?"

Ulrich laughed as well, thinking back to the various predicaments they'd been in over the past two years.

"Yeah. Chased by a giant teddy bear; attacked by laughing gas; getting trapped in that boiler room -"

He stopped and they both blushed, as they remembered the somewhat awkward situation that had arisen that day. Some time went by, with neither of them saying anything. Ulrich tried desperately to think of something to break the silence.

"Say, you want a mint?" Yumi glanced sideways at him, as he pulled a packet out of his pocket. "Here; they're watermelon."

She grinned and accepted his offer.

"Thanks. That's my favorite flavor."

"Yeah. I know."

Of course he knew. Just like he knew that, at lunch time, she always saved the strawberry on top of her cheesecake for last. Or, how she sometimes stood by the window of the auditorium, so that she could listen to the string band play those really old acoustic songs.

Ulrich found his mind wandering into unwanted areas, and decided to try and find a more casual topic. But, before he could even open his mouth, Yumi spoke up.

"Ulrich, did I ever thank you?"

"Hm, for what?"

"Well, for everything. You remember how I told you that I didn't have any friends? Well, meeting you changed all that." Yumi turned her head, so that her hair was hiding her blush. "And also, you've done so much for me. You've always been there when I needed you. Not to mention all the times you've saved my life."

Ulrich gave a small shrug.

"Don't mention it. After all, you've saved my life plenty of times too. Plus, you're always there as well. I mean, how many people would climb up a huge tree and stay there, just to keep someone company?"

"You say that, like it should be a chore." Yumi finally turned to face him with a broad smile on her face. "I enjoy spending time with you, Ulrich; whatever the situation."

Ulrich felt his cheeks warming up again. If this kept up, he was going to pass out from all the blood rushing to his face. He cleared his throat.

"Ahem. Maybe we should check on how the others are doing?"

"Right. Good idea." Yumi took out her phone and dialed. "Hello; Jeremie? Are you there?"

She was answered with a groan of pain.

"Hey, Yumi. I'm here."

"Jeremie, what hap-? The monster attacked you in the control room, didn't it?"

Jeremie managed to give a pained chuckle.

"Yep. Aelita deactivated the tower before it could finish me off. I might have some minor second degree burns; but nothing a trip to the past won't cure."

"Glad to hear it. See you later." Yumi hung up, and turned to Ulrich. "Disaster's over. We'll be going back in time any second now."

"Great, 'cause I think I've lost the feeling in my limbs." They both laughed; knowing that the danger was gone made it easy to joke about the situation.

"Y'know, Yumi?" Said Ulrich. "Even though we didn't get to go on our date; tonight wasn't all that bad."

Yumi's face froze. She looked at Ulrich, wide-eyed.

"Tonight… was a date?"

Ulrich's face blanched to match Yumi's. He started to wave his hands as he answered, almost falling out of the tree as he did so.

"Whoa, did I say 'date'? I meant that as in a 'friend-date'. You know, as in two friends, going out together… as friends."

"Oh… okay."

Ulrich put on a casual smile, but felt like banging his head against the tree trunk. He might as well throw away those breath mints.

"Hey, Ulrich."

"Hmm." He replied glumly.

Yumi leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Try not to be late this time." She said with a grin.

The white light, that signaled a return trip in time, engulfed the two, so Ulrich didn't get a chance to respond. But he figured he might just hold on to those mints.


	3. Pet Pleasures

"Here, Kiwi. Here, my little diggity dog. Come and get your dog biscuit."

Odd was crouched on the floor, holding a dog-shaped treat out to his pet. Kiwi was eyeing it suspiciously. His gaze kept going back to the pet carrier that lay just next to Odd.

The door opened and Ulrich stuck his head in.

"Odd, haven't you got him in yet. Everyone's waiting to take Kiwi to the -"

Odd silenced him with a hissing shush.

"Shhh! Don't say it! You know he hates going to… that place. If he hears you, he'll freak out."

Ulrich rolled his eyes and leant against the wall with his arms crossed. Odd continued to coax his dog with the biscuit.

Come on, Kiwi. It's liver-flavored; your favorite."

Ulrich grimaced as Odd actually licked the biscuit and put on a look of pleasure.

"Mmm, yum yum. If you don't want it Kiwi, I'll gladly eat it."

He held the biscuit over his open mouth, and Ulrich thought he was actually going to eat it! Fortunately Kiwi looked alarmed at the prospect of losing food, and scampered forward to snap up the treat.

Odd picked up his dog and scratched him behind the ears, as he happily chewed. He nodded towards the pet carrier, indicating that Ulrich should pick it up.

"Finally, now let's get him to the -" Ulrich caught the look in Odd's eye and sighed. "Fine, let's get him to the V-E-T."

Kiwi's ears instantly pricked up. With a yelp, he leapt out of Odd's arms, scurried past Ulrich's feet and out the door.

"Oh, man! I told you not to say it!" Odd grabbed the pet carrier and started to give chase down the hallway, with Ulrich following behind.

"Well, how was I supposed to know your dog could spell?!"

"I keep telling you how intelligent he is!"

"If he's so intelligent; why'd he eat your new art kit?!"

Odd saw Yumi, Aelita and Jeremie standing at the end of the hallway, with Kiwi heading straight towards them.

"Guys, heads up!"

Yumi was the first to react on seeing Kiwi. She went to grab him, but the speedy little dog dashed between her legs. Aelita crouched down to try and tackle Kiwi at his level, but he leapt up onto her shoulder and bounded towards Jeremie. The boy genius gave a yelp as Kiwi's paws found his face, and he wound up on the floor with his glasses askew and the dog disappearing down the stairs.

"After him!"

Odd led the others in full chase. Ulrich was bringing up the rear, thanking Heaven that it was a Sunday so there weren't many faculty members around.

Pretty soon, he and the others were out in the school yard searching high and low for Odd's pet.

"I don't see why we all have to take Kiwi to the vet. He's _your_ dog." Ulrich aimed this question at Odd, as they searched around the vending machine.

"Where's your sense of comradery, Ulrich?" Odd replied. "Kiwi's a part of Team Lyoko, just like the rest of us."

"Oh really? Aside from yapping at a few of Xana's creations; what has he contributed to the team?"

"Well, if _someone_ would let me take him to Lyoko," Odd looked over to where Jeremie was checking underneath a bench. "I bet he'd be a lot of help against William and all of Xana's monsters."

"I keep telling you, Odd." Jeremie straightened up to answer. "The scanners were designed to virtualize humans, not dogs. There's no telling what effect it might have on Kiwi."

"Yeah. He might wind up like that dog in 'The Fly II'. All mutated and gross." Ulrich put on a creepy voice and wiggled his fingers.

Odd seemed to pale at the thought, and then said accusingly,

"I notice that didn't stop you trying to use him as a guinea pig when you first found them!"

"There he is!"

The boys looked up and followed Yumi's pointed finger to see Kiwi shooting towards the Rec Room.

Inside, Sissi was sat in front of the TV with Hervé and Nicholas. They were watching her favorite soap opera.

"Hey, wait. I thought Brook was getting married to Clint." Nicholas scratched his head as he watched a couple kissing on the screen.

"No, no. They called off the wedding when Brook discovered that Clint was her long lost half-brother. Now she's going out with Jonathan, who's secretly the father of her best friend's baby. Try to keep up."

Sissi turned her attention back to the screen, but couldn't hear what was being said due to the shouting coming from outside. She irately looked to the half-open door.

"What is all that noise?"

Kiwi came darting into the room and jumped onto her lap.

"Eeeek!" Sissi shrieked and held her clenched fists up by her chin.

Ulrich burst through the door and made a dive for the dog.

"Gotcha!"

Kiwi leapt out of Ulrich's reach, and the boy landed draped over Sissi's legs.

"Oh! Hello, Ulrich." Sissi smiled and her cheeks turned pink.

Ulrich scrambled upright, at the same time that Hervé stood up in anger. Odd came sprinting into the Rec Room, didn't slow down fast enough, and knocked Hervé over so that he took Ulrich's place on Sissi's lap.

"Eeeeek!"

Jeremie, Aelita and Yumi arrived and spread out around the room, hoping to pen Kiwi in. Sissi stood up and yelled at Nicholas and Hervé, who had his hand over a red mark on his cheek.

"Don't just sit there, you two! Get that beast out of the Rec Room! Have you forgotten that I'm supposed to be in charge of it?!"

The two boys hurried to obey and soon Kiwi was surrounded on all sides as he stubbornly crouched under the ping-pong table.

"Okay, here's how we're going to do this." Odd had seemingly taken charge of the operation. He held the pet carrier at the ready. "Ulrich and Yumi; you guys go in under the table and flush him out. I'll grab him. The rest of you, make sure he doesn't get out either side."

The others nodded, and Ulrich and Yumi dove under the table. But instead of running out the only available exit, Kiwi cocked his leg and let spray on Nicholas' face!

"Bleugh!"

The orange-haired boy reared back, wiping desperately at his mug. Kiwi took this opportunity to clamber up his shirt and jump off his shoulder. This flight of victory was short-lived however, when he was grabbed by the collar in midair.

Everyone looked up to see Sissi holding Kiwi at arm's length, and speaking with barely restrained anger.

"Get this thing out of here… NOW!"

Odd quickly took his dog and placed him in the pet carrier, locking it up securely.

"Thanks, Sissi." He said with a grin. "I owe you one."

He took one look at her twitching eyebrow and clenched teeth, and decided to take his leave. He and his friends dashed out the door followed by Sissi's screams,

"Della Robbia, when you finally decide to go back to your home planet; make sure to take that mutt with you!"

Ulrich, Yumi, Aelita and Jeremie were seated in the waiting room of the vet's building. Odd had already gone in with Kiwi. Ulrich was idly flicking through a magazine, trying not to look at the large python sitting in a cage on the chair beside him. The animal hadn't stopped staring at him since they'd come in.

"How can anyone want to keep one of those things as a pet?" He whispered to Yumi.

The girl looked at the snake. A label attached to one of the bars of the cage stated her name was Rosie. Yumi gave Ulrich a mischievous smile.

"I hear they make good guard-dogs. They'll eat any intruder."

Ulrich glanced at the python, which flicked her tongue out in a way that resembled licking her lips.

Aelita was looking at a beautiful red and blue parrot whose cage was being held by a middle-aged man.

"Hello, there." She said playfully to the bird.

"Hello." It whistled back.

"Ha ha, I love how they talk." She said to Jeremie. "Do they repeat every phrase they hear?"

"Just the ones they hear most of all." Jeremie replied. "It's actually a good way of telling what kind of home environment they live in."

The parrot then squawked out,

"I love you, Florence."

The two teens looked at the man, holding the parrot cage. He turned his head away bashfully. Aelita put her hand over her mouth to hide a giggle.

"Aww, I think that's sweet."

The parrot then spoke up again,

"Uh, oh. Get out, Florence. Uh, oh. Here comes the wife. Here comes the wife."

They looked in shock at the man again, who had his face completely turned away.

The door to the outside opened and the four Lyoko Warriors' eyes widened as they recognized the people entering.

Suzanne Hertz was being followed in by Jim Morales, who was holding a ginger cat in his arms.

"You know, Jim; you didn't have to come with me." Ms Hertz said as she approached the receptionist desk.

"Nonsense, Suzanne." Jim replied with what was presumably intended to be a charming smile. "When you told me little Edison here had an ear infection; I just had to come and make sure he was okay."

He petted Edison's head. The cat in turn hissed at him.

After checking in with the receptionist, the two teachers sat down with the other waiting pet-owners.

"Actually Suzanne, I used to be a vet myself." Said Jim.

"Really." Ms Hertz didn't sound interested in the least. She glanced over at four figures, who each had their faces concealed behind a magazine.

"Yes, I worked at a local zoo. There was this one time when an elephant was suffering from terrible constipation. Well, I just pulled on my rubber gloves and -"

Ms Hertz held up a hand.

"I'd rather you didn't talk about it, Jim."

Looking somewhat dejected, Jim stroked Edison again. The animal responded by sinking his claws into Jim's arm.

"Yeeoow!"

His elbow jerked out and knocked Rosie's cage. The python, who had still been staring at Ulrich, bared her fangs in response to this disturbance. Ulrich instinctively tried to back away from the snake, and knocked into Yumi. In a domino effect, all four of the hiding students were bumped from their chairs, and revealed to their teachers.

"What the -? Stones, Belpois, Ishiyama, Stern; what're you four doing off campus?" Jim demanded.

"I don't live on campus, Jim." Yumi reminded him.

"Oh, right. Well then, what're you _three_ doing off campus?" Jim redirected his question to Ulrich, Jeremie and Aelita.

Before any of them could answer, Odd came out of the examination room carrying Kiwi.

"Good news, guys. Kiwi's gonna be just fi… er." He trailed off on seeing Jim and Ms Hertz.

Thinking fast, Yumi moved over to Odd and took Kiwi.

"Oh, that's wonderful! Thank you, Odd." She said with great enthusiasm. Looking towards the teachers, she added with an embarrassed look,

"My dog wasn't feeling well and, well I just hate being around doctors and vets places, so my friends came to offer their support."

"Like you with Ms Hertz." Aelita chipped in.

Jim glanced back at the science teacher, and thought maybe about letting them off this time. But suddenly, Edison started hissing and yowling at Kiwi. The dog responded with a series of high-pitched barks. The two animals then leapt from their keepers' arms and proceeded to chase each other around the waiting room.

Edison dashed under the chair holding Rosie's cage; knocking against one of the legs when he did so. Kiwi followed suit and the cage fell to the floor with the door breaking open.

The waiting room was then filled with an explosion of noise.

"Yeeeeek!"

"Jim, get off me!"

"Wow, Ms Hertz. I had no idea you were so strong."

Ssssssss…

"Yaaahh! Get it off! Get it off!"

"Don't struggle, Ulrich. It'll only hold on tighter."

"I love you, Florence."

Kiwi was happily biting on a squeaky rubber ball, while the other members of Team Lyoko were sat around Odd and Ulrich's room.

"Y'know Odd," Ulrich said from his bed where he was laying. "I have enough things trying to kill me, thanks to Xana. I didn't need a giant snake added to them!"

"Oh come on, Ulrich." Odd replied. "They got it off you easily enough. It was probably more scared than you were."

"I doubt it!"

"I can't believe we got a whole week's detention for sneaking off campus." Jeremie sat on Odd's bed, with his hands under his chin. "This is really going to slow down my Lyoko research."

"Maybe Ulrich could get Sissi to talk to her father for us." Aelita suggested. She then added with a grin. "You did make quite the impression in the Rec Room."

"You people aren't happy unless I'm suffering, are you?" Ulrich said dryly.

"Well, I'd rather have detention than sit through another one of Jim's lectures on 'Controlling Your Animal'." Said Yumi. She fixed Odd with a look. "Especially, considering he isn't _my_ animal."

"Okay, okay." Odd held up his hands in surrender. "I get your point. Next time, I'll take Kiwi to the vet myself."

They all turned their heads at a particularly loud squeak. Kiwi was sitting up with his mouth open, and the ball could be seen at the back of his throat. He gave a deliberate gulp and the squeaky toy disappeared entirely.

Odd looked around at his friends.

"Seeing as you're all getting a detention anyway…"


	4. The Rules

A small screen opened up on Jeremie's computer. At first, it only showed an extreme close-up of Odd's sleeve. Then, as the blond boy became satisfied with the camera's position, he sat back and began speaking; making sure to look directly into the lens.

"Hello there. My name is Odd Della Robbia. If there's any justice in the world, then you know me as a hugely famous filmmaker, or somebody equally successful, and are wondering how much money you could make by selling this film to the Biography Channel."

His smiling face took on a deep and intense look. He knew it looked deep and intense because he'd been practicing in front of the mirror for half an hour before recording this little message.

"But, before you do, listen to what I have to say. It may save your life.

You see, my friends and I have spent the last two years protecting the world from an evil artificial intelligence named Xana, who came from a secret supercomputer kept in an abandoned factory where a scientist named Franz Hopper created a virtual world called Lyoko for him and his daughter Aelita to live in, to escape from the evil agents of Project Carthage."

Odd quickly took a breath, and then continued,

"Xana was supposed to be the guardian of Lyoko, but he went psycho; taking Franz captive and causing Aelita to lose her memories. Franz managed to shut down the supercomputer and keep Xana from reaching the outside world, but he and Aelita were trapped inside."

The boy reached off-screen and picked up a soda can. He took a thirsty gulp and sighed,

"Man, this is starting to sound like the plotline of a really weird cartoon. So where was I? Oh yeah.

About ten years later, my friend Jeremie discovered the supercomputer and turned it back on. He met Aelita, discovered Lyoko and the rest is history."

Putting the soda can down, Odd allowed his usual cheerful grin to return to his face.

"You'll be glad to know that, a few days ago, we defeated Xana in an epic battle in which I myself played a very important part. Unfortunately, Franz Hopper had to give his life for us to succeed."

Odd stopped briefly to put his hand over his heart in a gesture of respect. He then turned his attention back to the camera.

"You probably already know all this because, when I become a great filmmaker, I plan to make a movie about all this. Yeah, with some truly great actor to play me. Anyway, what I want to tell you about isn't what's already happened. It's what might happen in the future.

Now Jeremie's assured me that every trace of Xana was wiped out by his program. But, if there's one thing I've learned from movies, comics and all other reliable sources on the mannerisms of evil; it's that the bad guy nearly always finds a way to come back."

Odd held up his hands in a 'calm down' motion.

"Don't go panicking, okay? This is purely speculation on my part. I just think that it's best to be prepared. Since computer programs can last forever, it could be years or even decades before Xana rears his ugly head again – _if_ he ever does. So, for that reason, I am sending this message to the future."

Odd then picked up a sheet of paper, that'd been lying on the desk in front of him. He held it up like a TV news reporter and cleared his throat.

"Ahem. There are certain rules you must follow in a Xana attack, if you want to survive.

Rule number one: Never go anywhere alone. Xana nearly always tried to separate us because he knew how formidable we were together."

He threw his arms up in an exaggerated martial arts pose.

"As a team, we could kick any of his creations butts! Hoo Hah!"

Clearing his throat again, Odd continued.

"Rule number two: Always watch out for the _eye_."

Odd turned the paper around to show the Xana symbol scribbled menacingly in red crayon.

"You see Xana had this symbol which would show up on the screen of any computer he was controlling, or in the eyes of any person he'd taken over. So if you see it anywhere, or on anyone, head for the hills.

Rule number three: Always pay attention in class. I've long believed that Xana must have had some sort of spy network in our school that allowed him to eavesdrop on our lessons. Every time our teachers would talk about something even remotely interesting, Xana would use it as his next attack. I didn't mention anything to the others because if Xana knew that I'd caught on to him, he might have started using less predictable methods. At least when he was using things we'd learned about in school; we knew what we were up against."

A knock at the door interrupted Odd.

"Odd, how much longer are you going to be? I've got work to do."

"Only a little while longer, Jeremie." Odd answered over his shoulder.

"What are you doing in there anyway?"

"Leaving my mark on history."

"… What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just give me two more minutes. Okay, Einstein?" Odd turned his attention back to the camera, muttering to himself. "Guy takes over a year to write a materialization program, but won't give me ten minutes to send a message to the future."

He firmly addressed his 'audience' jabbing the air with his finger for emphasis.

"Rule number four: Do not; I repeat; _do not_ under any circumstances volunteer to man the supercomputer. Only mega genius's can work that thing without something horrible occurring. Every time me, or Yumi, or Ulrich tried our hand at the keyboard; the repercussions were severe.

So leave the science to the eggheads."

Odd leaned back and stretched his arms over his head.

"Well, that's about all the advice I can give you, in case you ever find yourself in a situation like ours. Although I warn you; against something like Xana; the rules can always change."

He reached over to turn the camera off but, before he could do so, the bedroom door opened.

"Okay Odd, I really need my computer back now." Jeremie walked into the room. Odd stood up.

"Okay, okay. I'm done. One 'guide to surviving Xana attacks' for future generations completed."

"Guide to surviving Xana attacks? Odd, there aren't going to _be _any more Xana attacks. He was completely destroyed."

"I know. But better safe than sorry, right?" Odd nodded towards the computer screen. "Besides, if nothing else, this could be one of our little keepsakes of our Lyoko adventures."

He then grinned mischievously.

"If you want; you and Aelita can have it to show your kids."

Jeremie's face reddened. He opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by a yell from outside the room.

"Odd!"

Kiwi appeared in the doorway, holding a pair of green boxer shorts in his teeth. There was a sound of fast approaching footsteps, and the dog took off with Ulrich in hot pursuit.

"Your stupid dog's got into my underwear drawer again!"

Odd dashed out the door, calling out,

"Kiwi, put those down! You don't know where they've been!"

Jeremie stood watching the empty doorway for a moment before sighing and turning to the computer. He held his finger over the 'off' button for the camera. But before pressing it, he looked into the lens and gave a small smile.

"See what your Dad had to put up with?"

There was a click and the screen went blank.


	5. Big Sister

Hiroki looked up nervously at the boy standing before him. In truth, he was only about a foot or so taller than the sixth grader. But, to Hiroki, he seemed to tower over him.

"Didn't you hear me? I said, give me that backpack." The boy named Nathaniel pointed to Hiroki's bag slung over one shoulder. Hiroki took hold of it in both arms and held on tight.

"No way." He said, sounding much braver than he felt.

"Well then, I guess I'll just take it." Nathaniel reached towards the smaller boy, but stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"You'll take a hike. That's what you'll take."

The young bully turned around and looked up to see Yumi standing before him. The bravado practically drained from his face at the sight of the older girl.

"Um, I er… um…"

Yumi didn't give him a chance to come up with an explanation. She leaned down, so that they were face to face, and said sharply,

"Beat it."

The boy nearly tripped over his own feet as he scrambled to get away. Once he was out of sight, Yumi looked to her younger brother.

"You okay?"

"What you have to go and do that for?" Hiroki put his backpack back on his shoulders and crossed his arms, his face set in a scowl. "I could have taken care of that guy."

"Yeah, right." Yumi put her hands on her hips. "Your knees were clacking together like a pair of chopsticks."

"Were not!" The boy turned on his heel and marched off towards the school yard. "Next time mind your own business."

Yumi exhaled through her nose and threw her arms skyward.

"_Thank you for helping me Yumi_. Don't mention it Hiroki. What's a big sister for?"

She picked up her own backpack and headed toward the main dormitory building. The day's lessons had ended but both she and her brother often stayed on the campus, for an hour or so, to hang out with their boarding friends.

Aelita was sitting on her bed, reading some of her favorite Norse legends, when there was a knock on her door.

"Come in."

Yumi entered with a friendly smile.

"Hey there, Aelita. Anything new?"

Aelita closed her book and gave a small shrug.

"Nothing much. We have a science test tomorrow. Jim injured himself trying to show us how to do a proper cartwheel. And it's been a couple of weeks since our last Xana attack, so I'm expecting another attempt on my life any day now."

Yumi chuckled and shook her head. She wondered exactly when they'd gotten to the point where they could joke about the constant threat to their existence posed by Xana.

"What about you?" Aelita patted a space next to her on the bed. "How was your day?"

"The usual." Yumi sat down next to her friend. "Although, on the way over here, I saw this kid bothering Hiroki."

"Is he okay?" Aelita asked.

"He's fine. I told the kid to get lost and he ran off. However, instead of being thankful, Hiroki was mad at me for helping him."

Yumi leant back against the wall.

"I guess it's only natural. He is nearly eleven. That male pride is starting to come into effect."

Aelita nodded in agreement.

"I know what you mean. Once boys reach a certain age, they feel they have to do everything by themselves. It's somehow belittling to ask for help; especially from a girl."

Aelita's door was opened and Odd stuck his head in. On seeing Aelita, he dashed over to her and got down on his knees.

"Aelita, you gotta help me. Ms Hertz said, if I get another bad score on tomorrow's science test, she'll put me in the remedial class! Please help me! Please, please please!"

Yumi and Aelita looked at each other.

"Of course some boys reach that stage later than others." Said Aelita.

Odd looked between the two giggling girls in confusion.

"Hey, was that the punchline to a joke or something?"

"We were just talking about my little brother." Said Yumi. "He doesn't want me helping him as much as he used to."

Odd hopped onto the bed between Yumi and Aelita.

"Oh, and that's bothering you, huh?"

Yumi raised an eyebrow.

"Why should it bother me? I'll finally be able to have some time to myself, without him following me everywhere."

Odd shrugged.

"It just seemed to me that you liked being the big sister. I mean, you're always telling me, Ulrich and Jeremie what to do – er – in a nice way, that is."

Yumi looked to Aelita.

"Do I do that?"

"Well… you do act a bit protective sometimes."

"I'll say." Odd added. "You always jump right in, when any of us are in trouble."

"And all the times you would sit and talk to me, especially when I was still getting used to life outside Lyoko." Aelita smiled at Yumi. "I often thought that that was what it was like to have a big sister."

Yumi's cheeks went slightly pink and she gave a half-shrug.

"Okay, so I like to look out for you guys. I am the oldest after all."

"Well, technically, I'm the oldest by nearly a decade." Aelita pointed out with a slight giggle.

"Alright Yumi, just answer me this." Said Odd. "Are you, or are you not, going to miss having your little brother need you like he used to."

Yumi crossed her arms and thought for a moment. Finally, she gave a sigh.

"Sure. I guess I'll miss it a little. But that's the way things go. It's not like I expected him to always want his big sister to hold his hand. It's good that he wants to do things for himself."

Aelita nodded.

"You're right. It is a good thing. But it doesn't mean that he won't need someone to show him how."

"Yeah. And even when he is all grown up -" Odd Added. "There's still a bunch of dunderheads here that'll need you."

Yumi gave a small groan.

"I'm still going to be babysitting you guys when I'm thirty, aren't I?"

The three friends shared a laugh before Odd turned to Aelita.

"Seriously Aelita, about that science test."

--

Yumi shut the front door behind her and took off her shoes. As she began to climb the stairs to her room, someone called to her.

"Hey, Yumi?"

She looked to see Hiroki standing in the hallway. He had his hands in his pockets and was deliberately looking at a corner of the wall.

"You know those kung fu classes that you and Ulrich go to?"

She turned to face him and crossed her arms.

"It's not kung fu. It's pencak silat; and what about it?"

Hiroki's foot shuffled along the floor, awkwardly.

"Do you think you could show me some moves?"

Before Yumi could answer, he quickly added,

"Not that I need your help or anything. It's just that, since you've been doing it a long time; I figure it'd be quickest to ask you."

Yumi allowed herself a small smile and walked down the stairs.

"How about you start coming to the classes with me? Jim's always looking for new students." She raised her eyebrows suggestively. "And I hear Milly's been taking an interest in it."

Hiroki looked up at this; his eyes wide.

"You'd… let me train with you."

"Sure." Yumi replied with a casual air. "Just don't expect me to stand next to you, talk to you or make any acknowledgement that you're there."

"Pfft, of course." Hiroki turned and walked into the living room.

Yumi went to head back up the stairs, but was certain that she heard a quiet,

"Thanks."


End file.
